Dowagiac Area History Museum

09/01/2026

The next installment of the Fall Lecture Series will be next Wednesday, September 9 at 6 p.m. with Jon Wuepper of the Cass District Library, History Library Branch, presenting "A History of Cass County's 19th Century Newspapers."

The History Library is a great resource for local newspapers and Jon is going to give us an overview of the many newspapers of Cass County in its first decades.

Photo shows the office of the Dowagiac Republican at the corner of Front and Commercial Streets around 1870.

08/13/2026

Tickets are now available for our annual 'Keep History Alive' fundraiser on September 23. Dinner this year will be by Scott's Pig Roast of Marcellus with full roast pig finished on-site, chicken and plenty of sides.

Items are starting to come in with plenty of goods and gift certificates from area businesses, artwork and prints, local history artifacts and lots of Round Oak items-- we are 99% sure we will even have a Round Oak stove on auction this year! There are always over 100 items in the silent and live auctions with something for everyone.

We have our live auctioneer Willie set to do 10 or so items for entertainment and the Friends of the DAHM will do our raffle drawing with a grand prize of $2,000.

Tickets are $50 in advance and can be purchased at the museum. Raffle tickets are also available at the museum for $20 each.

08/05/2026

08/05/2026

Our Fall Lecture Series kicks off tonight with Christina H. Arseneau and Mollie K. Watson at 6 p.m. with "Niles History in Photos: How We Wrote the Book."

They will also be selling and signing their newly published Arcadia book, 'Images of America: Niles.' Book sales will be cash/check only and cost $25 even.

The program is free for museum members and students, $5 for non-member adults. Seating is limited to 100 and on a first-come basis.

08/03/2026

Christina H. Arseneau and Mollie K. Watson of the Niles History Center kick off our Fall Lecture Series Wednesday, August 5 at 6 pm with "Niles History in Photos: How We Wrote the Book."

The pair recently had their book 'Images of America: Niles' published by Arcadia Publishing and will have books for sale with a book signing following the program.

The program is free for museum members and students, $5 for non-members. Seating is limited to 100 and is on a first-come basis.

07/20/2026

Tomorrow, Tuesday July 21, is a good day to stop by the museum. We will be hosting a group of close to 40 pre-1915 'Brassie' automobiles at the museum. The drivers are always happy to show off and talk about their cars. They will be arriving around 10:30 am and spending a couple of hours in Dowagiac at the museum, the Heddon Museum and having lunch.

Photos from their last visit in 2016.

07/14/2026

We are busy planning the museum's annual 'Keep History Alive' fundraiser, which is set for Wednesday, September 23 at Marion Magnolia Farms. This is always a fun event with a dinner, silent auction, live auction and the raffle drawing for a $2,000 grand prize. Tickets are now available for purchase at the museum.

06/30/2026

The museum will be closed from July 3 through July 4 for the Independence Day Holiday. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend.